we chatted online and looked at each other ’ s training records on the Trent pages , but it was weird setting out onto the loch with people I had never met or paddled with ! What a fantastic team though ; Steve Humphrey , Gemma Palmer Deighton and Lucy Small . Words can ’ t describe the fantastic team dynamics involved . It ’ s not a race , but I was delighted as we came in fourth place . We were well-matched and stretched and still speaking to each other at the end .
Personal ambition , looking for the flow
I celebrated my birthday in February by paddling the Basingstoke Canal , coinciding with a water sports show at Farnborough . I signed up for The Norfolk Broads Ultra and pencilled the Loch Awesome challenge . I met Emma Hepplethwaite and added the Great Glen . Scoped the bucket list : Scillies , paddling more Welsh estuaries and having a little more paddling time on local canals and rivers
The exposed Scilly Islands sit off the Cornish Coast with big tides and Atlantic swell . Good conditions and tide and wind planning allowed us to circumnavigate St Marys and paddle across to Tresco , Bryher and St Martins . The water was cold ( 12 degrees ), and the Atlantic swell created fascinating ( seasickness-inducing ) conditions even on calm days , but we found many empty beaches .
Loch Awesome lived up to its name . I was honoured to be placed with Team Supaholic ,
Ultra events
The Norfolk Broads Ultra provided more brutal headwinds . Still , I loved the monotony of miles of reed and searching for wind shelter . I also enjoyed the solo challenge , a completely new experience for me . You get to know people quickly , chasing them down or being chased . Ultra events suit my paddling ( not pretty , not super fast ) and the mindfulness and mind games nature plays with you over seven hours on the water is very much a meditative experience .
The third formal challenge was the Trent 100 . Not a race , but Will Worthington , James Sutherland and I wanted a respectable time . As the Chelmarsh Chimps finished second , we pushed on a little ( James did ask if there were any checkpoints and is still waiting for a banana stop !). The Trent is a great challenge event with a legendary party . It was brilliant to see four Chelmarsh teams who had trained together over the year competing .
73 s t a n d u p p a d d l e m a g u k